The present invention relates generally to golf equipment and, in particular, to a golf club head with filler material.
In recent years, golf club heads (and, in particular, golf putter heads) that incorporate inserts made of material different from other portions of the head have gained in popularity. It is believed that such inserts provide golfers with a more desirable “feel” upon striking a golf ball with the club head. Such inserts may provide an improved, and sometimes “soft,” feel by dampening unwanted vibration upon contacting the golf ball, which may otherwise travel through the club shaft to the golfer's anatomy. While such inserts have provided a certain modicum of vibration dampening properties, a demand exists for new putter heads having improved vibration dampening properties, without sacrificing other preferred attributes, such as, for example, perimeter and balanced weighting.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,844 to Shippee discloses a golf club head having a hollow hermetically scaled percussion chamber formed within it and a resilient face for contacting golf balls. The chamber serves to dampen the movement of the resilient face. The Shippee golf club is described as being useful in creating a unique and desirable sound upon striking a golf ball. The club head may be formed of metal, and the percussion chamber may be formed of plastic or wood.
A golf putter head disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,122 to Florian has a core structure containing a lightweight wooden block disposed between a pair of metal castings. The core structure is contained within a plastic shell, and a plastic insert is attached to one side of the shell to form a face for striking a golf ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,249 to Beery discloses a golf putter head including a front face with a vibratory cover plate mounted on the front face covering a recess formed in the front face. The vibratory cover plate is preferably formed of flexible and resilient material such as plastic so that it cooperates with the recess to provide a resonating chamber in the putter head.
A putter head disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,526 to Huggins et al. has a block of resilient material pressed into a cavity defined by back, side and end walls of the head. The block has a striking surface, and it may be removed from the head to permit other blocks of different resiliency to be substituted therefor.
A putter head disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,792 to Straza et al. is provided with a face insert formed of a honeycomb cellular structure that has individual cells filled by resilient material such as epoxy resin. Outer exposed ends of the resilient material form a striking face.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,778 to Douglass discloses a golf putter head having a rigid body and a resilient laminated face insert formed of inner and outer layers of resilient material. The inner layer of the face insert has a hardness which is less than that of the outer layer of the face insert. Preferably, the outer layer has a hardness which is equal to or greater than the hardness of a golf ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,332 to Fisher discloses a putter head with an elastomeric pad insert that is formulated to effect a reproducible direct linear relationship between the rebound factor of the pad insert and the distance from the putter head to an intended target.
A putter head disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,997 to Schmidt et al. has a face plate insert formed of an elastomer, a synthetic resin or glass. The insert includes a medial portion that has a greater height than its opposite end portions.